This season, in his second year in the minor leagues, Horne finished with an 11-4 record and a 3.20 ERA to lead the Trenton Thunder – the New York Yankees’ Double-A affiliate – to their first Eastern League Championship and along the way, earned the EL Pitcher of the Year award.

“We were really pleased with Alan’s progression,” Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman told trentonthunder.com shortly after the season. “He certainly has our attention.” That attention was evident during this year’s winter meetings.

After dangling the 6-foot-4, 195-pound righty at the Cincinnati Reds for slugger Adam Dunn this summer, the Yankees deemed him untradable in an attempt to acquire Minnesota Twins ace Johan Santana in November.

“It’s definitely a big honor,” Horne said. “Even to be thrown around with caliber players like Adam Dunn and Johan Santana is nice. Then to find out it’s not going to happen makes you feel really good.

“But anything can happen. There’s always that magic deal that can pop up.”

Now, Horne makes a living in New Jersey, where he hopes to be another successful product of the Yankees’ farm system – like former teammates Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes.

“It’s very encouraging to see your teammates have that success because it makes you think you can succeed, too,” Horne said. “I’m going to go into spring training with the mentality of being a starting pitcher for the Yankees and opening up some eyes. If I have to come out of the bullpen, that’s fine.

“I just want to make the big leagues.”

If I had to guess, Horne will start the year in Triple-A next season. But, if he does well there, he could be in the Bronx some time during the year too.

For a guy who is 6’4, he should way more then 195 pounds, something in the 210 to 215 area or higher.
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Andy Ashby weighed in @ 190, and he was 6’1. It isn’t outside the realm of possibility that Horne is @ his correct weight.

Guys like Roy Oswalt and Tim Lincecum indicate, to me, that the “ideal” physical characteristics for a pitcher are more or less irrelevant if those pitchers are talented enough to get big league hitters out with consistency.

Who cares what Horne’s body looks like? If he comes up to the big leagues and succeeds, that’s all that matters. And if he comes up and flops, I’ll doubt very much that it was because he didn’t weigh 210-215.